European-Chinese Chamber of Commerce launched in The Netherlands

Several hundred European and Chinese business people and politicians celebrated the founding of a European-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in The Hague on Monday.

19 February 2008

AMSTERDAM - Several hundred European and Chinese business people and politicians were celebrated the founding of a European-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in The Hague on Monday.

Among the guests were legislators of the Dutch and European Parliament.

The office of the new Chamber of Commerce will be located in the World Trade Center at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam.

Speaking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, founder of the European- Chinese Chamber of Commerce Cho Ya Huii said the new chamber of commerce was expected to boost business relations between China and Europe.

"We have a broad network in China and Europe. We serve as an umbrella organisation for all national Chambers of Commerce in Europe," said Huii, also a board member of the Chinese-Dutch Chamber of Commerce.

Huii says the European-Chinese Chamber of Commerce will provide courses, including Chinese, to European business people planning to expand their businesses in China.

Chinese businesses could use the services of the chamber to expand into Europe with trade missions also among the activities. A new website is in the making and will be launched within the next few weeks.

"Europe and China are increasingly opening their doors to each other," Huii said, "particularly in the Netherlands, the market for Chinese businesses is growing substantially.

Today, more than 1,500 Chinese businesses are active in the Netherlands - restaurants and hotels excluded. The number is expected to increase quickly.

The Netherlands is particularly attractive due to its location, the presence of Schiphol airport as well as the Rotterdam harbour, one of the biggest ports in the world.

That is also, Huii says, the reason why the European Chamber of Commerce will be located in the Netherlands.

Asked whether there are particular sectors in Europe which Chinese businesses are focusing on, Huii says this is not the case.

"The Chinese are involved in all kinds of businesses in Europe. They offer more products than services, but those can be both food and non-food products."